The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Skye Dunlap Un-Retired Teacher: Catherine Issacson returned to Willow Glen Elementary School this year to teach reading in a program that has brought several experienced teachers back from retirement. The love of the classroom lures local teachers out of retirement Willow Glen Elementary hires veterans for its Title I program By Michelle Ku Five retired San Jose elementary school teachers recently discovered the truth behind an old adage. For them, teaching is more than just a job, it's a passion. Even in retirement, Catherine Isaacson, Colleen Medinnus, Adele Smith, Irene Stafford and Donna Tell couldn't stop teaching. Within two years of their departure from the job, their love of education brought them back to the classroom at Willow Glen Elementary as substitute teachers. "I remember when that first fall [after retirement] came and I was depressed about not being in the classroom," says Tell, who retired from the San Jose Unified School District in 1994 after teaching for 30 years. Today, they are again working with students. But this time around, it's in an individualized setting. "It's really a joy to work one-on-one with a child and develop a relationship you can't with 30 students," said Tell, who is working with the third-graders. The retired teachers have joined the Title I program, which is designed for students who score below the 50th percentile in reading and math on standardized testing. Willow Glen has around 400 Title I students, according to Sharon Roddick, a third-grade teacher and one of the two coordinators of the program. Schools are allotted funds from the federal program depending on the number of Title I students in attendance, and each school uses its Title I funds differently. Some schools hire "reading recovery" teachers, while others hire classroom tutors, Maureen Munroe, district spokesperson, says. Willow Glen's program is somewhat unique in that the school has opted to hire a retired teacher to handle each of the grade levels in the school. "I think these students and parents are very lucky," says Stafford, who retired in 1995 after 27-year career in San Jose. "This is the only school in the district that I know of that's doing this." Willow Glen has been using retired teacher tutors since 1996. The retired teachers work with each student for 20 to 30 minutes a day from October through May. They use a phonetics-based program called "Patterns for Success in Reading and Spelling." The retired teachers have seen a marked increase in the performance of the students in their program. On average, they see advancement of almost two years of reading progress, although some students have experienced reading improvement equal to four or five years of ordinary study, says Isaacson, who taught first and second grade at Willow Glen for 36 years. Isaacson, who is working with the second-graders, retired in 1994. "But I didn't get far from here," she quips. The teachers work with students on a rotating basis. As soon as a student has progressed to reading at grade level, she or he is graduated out of the program. Last year, Isaacson worked with 20 students and has already graduated two students from the program this year. The teachers say they see students' self-esteem grow as they learn to read. "I think building a child's ego and making them feel successful is good, "says Smith, who taught for 30 years until she retired in 1994. "The teachers tell us they have more self-confidence in the classroom." Smith works with fourth-graders in the program. Classroom tutors assist the retired teachers, and use the same methods of reading support: phonics, sight word identification, comprehension and writing skills, spelling and dictation. "The retired teachers are a fantastic part [of the program] and we love them dearly," Roddick says. "We've seen such huge progress with the kids." Stafford says she doesn't know how much longer she will continue with the program--despite loving the part-time job--due to her long commute from Summit Road. "The advantage [of this] is there's no homework," Stafford says. "When I was teaching, I was up to 2 or 3 a.m. grading and preparing for the next day. Now, I'm free. My evening are my own. It's one-on-one, there's no yard duty and there's no homework. It's wonderful to teach and not be bogged down." [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, December 9, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.